Life After Hail and Baal

When the humble see it they will be glad; you who seek God, let your hearts revive. Psalm 69:3

I have spent the last couple of days thinking about suicide (not my own). A friend called to ask me what the Bible says about it. I had to do some digging and still have as many questions as answers.

At the same time I was awed by a work God has done in reviving a plant that was leveled by the hail storm we had on May 22^nd. I had been given a Gerbera daisy, had transplanted it into a large pot, and placed it on the back patio. All that was left after the hail storm were roots and just a little green.

After feeding and coaxing,  it is the plant in the picture accompanying this post. Obviously, the roots were firmly grounded.

As I thought about suicide I realized that a dead person cannot be revived as my plant was. But, with roots, firmly planted in faith, and willingness to exercise it in our despair, He can revive us, as well.

The Bible reports Elijah wanted to die in 1 Kings 19. After he had killed the prophets of Baal and King Ahab had told the wicked Jezebel about it she sent a messenger to him saying,  “So may the gods do to me and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.” 1 Kings 19:2

He was afraid for his life! “He arose and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he asked that he might die, saying, “It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.” 1 Kings 19:3-4

Elijah was despairing in his fear of Jezebel and his exhaustion from running after a stressful day  of challenging and then killing the prophets of Baal. For the record, they were enemies of God and needed to go.

The next verses show us the grace of God. Elijah was able to sleep. Then, God sent an angel who woke him up, “And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water. And he ate and drank and lay down again.” 1 Kings 19:6

He was still tired so he slept some more. Then, 1 Kings 19:7 And the angel of the LORD came again a second time and touched him and said, “Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you.”

Sleep, eat, drink, sleep eat, drink. God offered him enough food, water, and sleep to sustain him for the next 40 days according to verse 8! God revived him!

Jezebel’s threats made Elijah think death would be better. It looked like hail had taken the life of my plant. Sinful people and difficult circumstances hail down on all of us at some point. Though depression can keep us from seeing things clearly, as children of God we can, by the power of the Holy Spirit, receive the same kind of ministry from God as Elijah did. God gave him what he knew He needed.

He will give us what we need to revive us from the storms of life – and they do come. His care for Elijah, a faithful servant, shows us how God cares for His faithful children. When we believe it is people who lift us from the depths of the pit we will be disappointed. When we trust God, He is faithful to care for us.

If you are not in the storm right now, could you be one, as a servant of God, who angelically provides what a friend in the storm needs?